JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. -- The 192nd Wing command team spoke to Airmen of the Virginia Air National Guard about current events and priorities at multiple All Call events on May 14-15, 2022, at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and State Military Reserve in Virginia Beach.
“From the SECDEF [Secretary of Defense] down through the services, there is a major change in our National Defense Strategy and a big focus across our DoD [Department of Defense] that we want to talk about today, so that we as Virginia Guardsmen fit into the big picture,” said Col. Christopher G. Batterton, 192nd Wing commander.
Batterton referred to the number one priority in the 2022 NDS: defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“Our first priority is the [PRC]...each defense priority is built around National Guard missions [such as], ‘defending the homeland’ - that’s a mission - that’s the Air National Guard and it’s what we do,” he said.
Additionally, Lt. Col. Andrew Weidner, 192nd Operations Group deputy commander, discussed how this priority affects the F-22A Raptor mission and Lt. Col. Jonathan Esparza, 185th Cyberspace Operations Squadron commander, discussed its effect on the VaANG’s cyberspace missions.
Chief Master Sgt. Richard Roberts, 192nd Wing command chief, presented several documents recently published by the office of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. He recommended each Airmen read them, which they could find on the 192nd Wing mobile app under the Accelerating Change section. The list of documents included Accelerate Change or Lose by Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the 22nd Air Force Chief of Staff; CSAF Action Orders to Accelerate Change Across the Air Force; the Enlisted Force Development Action Plan 2022-2023; the Blueprint Enlisted Force Development; the Enlisted Force Structure; and A Profession of Arms: Our Core Values.
Leadership concluded each All Call with an “Airman Spotlight” recognizing several Airmen for their recent accomplishments with the presentation of a coin.